Mobile terminal apparatus for automatically generating/changing wireless local area network (WLAN) access information and method for controlling the same

ABSTRACT

A method and apparatus for automatically generating/changing Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) access information are provided. The apparatus includes an access information management database for storing pre-registered WLAN access information of a plurality of WLAN Access Points (APs). The apparatus also includes an access information collector for collecting information for WLAN APs being accessible at a current position of the apparatus, and an access information analyzer for analyzing the collected information, and creating a list of the accessible WLAN APs. The apparatus further includes a comparator for comparing the list with the WLAN access information to determine if the WLAN APs match. The apparatus additionally includes an access information automatic changer for automatically changing current WLAN access information according to matched APs. The apparatus includes an access information generator for automatically generating new WLAN access information when no WLAN access information is matched with the APs.

PRIORITY

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/439,653 filed on May 16, 2003, which claims priority to anapplication entitled “MOBILE TERMINAL APPARATUS FOR AUTOMATICALLYGENERATING/CHANGING WIRELESS LOCAL AREA NETWORK ACCESS INFORMATION ANDMETHOD FOR CONTROLLING THE SAME”, filed in the Korean IntellectualProperty Office on Oct. 28, 2002 and assigned Serial No.10-2002-0065897, the contents of which are hereby incorporated byreference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a mobile terminal apparatus forautomatically generating/changing WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network)access information and a method for controlling the same, and moreparticularly to a mobile terminal apparatus for automaticallygenerating/changing WLAN access information of a user's mobile terminalwhen the user of a WLAN moves from one place to another to provide theuser with maximum mobility, resulting in greater convenience for theuser, and a method for the controlling the same.

2. Description of the Related Art

With the increasing development of the next generation wired/wirelessintegrated technologies, many developers have conducted intensiveresearch into WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network) architecture serving asa major component of next generation communication architectures basedon such wired/wireless integrated technologies. It is expected that IT(Internet Technology) industries will rapidly change with thedevelopment of such WLAN technologies. Particularly, the WLANarchitecture has been developed for use with a variety of mobileterminals such as notebook computers and PDAs (Personal DigitalAssistants), with the result that an overall service area of the WLANhas become wider and more diverse.

FIG. 1 is a conceptual view illustrating a conventional WLANarchitecture. Referring to FIG. 1, the conventional WLAN architectureincludes an AP (Access Point) 20 hard-wired to Internet 10. Mobileterminal devices 30 such as a notebook computer 30 a or a PDA 30 b canwirelessly communicate with the AP 20.

The AP 20 connects a wired LAN with a wireless LAN to enable any user ofthe mobile terminal devices 30 to freely surf the Internet 10, andoperates over a distance in the range of 20˜30 m in an internalenvironment, or over a distance in the range of 100˜150 m in an externalenvironment. The AP 20 can be wirelessly connected either to mobileterminal devices 30 for use in buildings where the devices 30 arelocated within a radius of about 20˜30 m from the installation area ofAP 20, or to other mobile terminal devices 30 for use outside where thedevices 30 are located within a radius of about 100˜150 m from theinstallation area of AP 20. To move from one location to another, a WLANuser must change WLAN access information of the mobile terminal devices30 to be classified according to WLAN service request areas and theirAPs; however, this may seriously limit expansion of a serviceable areaof the WLAN for guaranteeing the user a free access thereto.

For example, in the case where the WLAN user moves to his or her officeafter accessing the WLAN at home, he or she must change prescribed WLANaccess information of his or her mobile terminal to another WLAN accessinformation for the office area, resulting in inconvenience to the user.

To solve this problem, conventional WLAN users have manuallypre-registered WLAN access information (for example, AP setupinformation related to the WLAN and TCP/IP-related information) ofprescribed areas they frequently use in their mobile terminal devices,such that they manually select their desired WLAN access informationfrom among the pre-registered WLAN access information whenever they movefrom one place to another place in a WLAN service area.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating a conventional WLAN accessinformation setup procedure.

Referring to FIG. 2, a user registers prescribed regional information ofa plurality of areas he or she wishes in his or her mobile terminal atstep S10. In this case, the regional information registered in theuser's mobile terminal includes AP setup information for use in regionalAPs and network setup information of any mobile terminal adapted toaccess the APs. In the case where the user requests to search for thepre-registered WLAN access information at step S20 after moving from aninitial area to another area, a plurality of WLAN access informationpre-registered at step S10 are displayed on a display of his or hermobile terminal at step S30. If the user selects one WLAN accessinformation related to any area he or she wishes from among theplurality of WLAN access information at step S40, the user's mobileterminal changes its current WLAN access information to another accessinformation on the basis of the selected WLAN access information at stepS50.

Although the aforesaid conventional WLAN access information setupprocedure shown in FIG. 2 has an advantage in that it reduces the user'sinconvenience of manually entering appropriate regional WLAN accessinformation in his or her mobile terminal whenever the user moves fromone place to another place, other disadvantages still remain, that is,the user must pre-register a plurality of WLAN access information in hisor her mobile terminal and must manually change prior WLAN accessinformation to another WLAN access information for his or her desiredarea whenever he or she moves from one area to another area. Moreover,in the event that the user moves to another place not pre-registered inthe mobile terminal, it is necessary for the user to manually enter newWLAN access information in the mobile terminal.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a mobileterminal apparatus for automatically generating/changing WLAN accessinformation of a user's mobile terminal when the user of a WLAN movesfrom one place to another place to afford the user maximum mobility, anda method for the controlling the same.

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, the above andother objects can be accomplished by the provision of a mobile terminalapparatus. The mobile terminal apparatus includes an access informationmanagement database (DB) for storing pre-registered Wireless Local AreaNetwork (WLAN) access information of a plurality of WLAN Access Points(APs) for service positions of a plurality of WLANs accessible by themobile terminal apparatus. The apparatus also includes an accessinformation collector for collecting information for one or more WLANAPs being accessible at a current position of the mobile terminalapparatus, and an access information analyzer for analyzing thecollected information of the access information collector, and creatinga list of the one or more WLAN APs accessible at the current position ofthe mobile terminal apparatus based on the analysis. The apparatusfurther includes a comparator for comparing the list of the one or moreWLAN APs with the WLAN access information stored in the accessinformation management DB to determine if the one or more WLAN APs matchthe plurality of WLAN APs. The apparatus additionally includes an accessinformation automatic changer for automatically changing a current WLANaccess information of the mobile terminal apparatus into other WLANaccess information corresponding to one or more matched APs inaccordance with a result of the comparing in the comparator. Theapparatus includes an access information generator for automaticallygenerating new WLAN access information to automatically change thecurrent WLAN access information when no WLAN access information ismatched with the APs contained in the list of the one or more WLAN APsin accordance with the result of the comparing in the comparator.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a method for automatically generating/changing WLAN (WirelessLocal Area Network) access information. An access information managementdatabase (DB) is constructed for storing WLAN access information of aplurality of WLAN Access Points (APs) for service positions of aplurality of WLANs accessible by a mobile terminal apparatus.Information of all WLAN APs being accessible at a current position ofthe mobile terminal apparatus is collected on the basis of a prescribedaccess information collection condition. The collected information isanalyzed, and a list of one or more WLAN APs accessible at the currentposition of the mobile terminal apparatus is created based on theanalysis. The list of the one or more WLAN APs is compared with WLANaccess information stored in the access information management DB todetermine if the one or more WLAN APs match the plurality of WLAN APs.Current WLAN access information of the mobile terminal apparatus isautomatically changed to another WLAN based on WLAN access informationmatched with the one or more WLAN APs. New WLAN access information isautomatically generated when there is no WLAN access information matchedwith the one or more WLAN APs in the access information management DB.WLAN access information of the mobile terminal apparatus isautomatically changed on the basis of the new WLAN access informationgenerated.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will be more clearly understood from the following detaileddescription taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a conceptual view illustrating a conventional WLANarchitecture;

FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating a conventional WLAN accessinformation setup procedure;

FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram of a mobile terminal device inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4A illustrates a database configuration of the mobile terminaldevice shown in FIG. 3 in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 4B illustrates a storage configuration of WLAN access informationin accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating a procedure for automaticallygenerating WLAN access information in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating a procedure for adding WLAN accessinformation to current WLAN access information in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a flow chart illustrating a procedure for automaticallychanging a current WLAN access information to another WLAN accessinformation in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;and

FIG. 8 is a flow chart illustrating a procedure for adding WLAN accessinformation to current WLAN access information in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detailwith reference to the annexed drawings. In the drawings, the same orsimilar elements are denoted by the same reference numerals even thoughthey are depicted in different drawings. In the following description, adetailed description of known functions and configurations incorporatedherein will be omitted when it may make the subject matter of thepresent invention unclear.

FIG. 3 is a view illustrating a block diagram of a mobile terminaldevice in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.Referring to FIG. 3, the mobile terminal device 100 includes an accessinformation management database (DB) 110, an access information manager120, an access information collector 130, an access information analyzer140, a comparator 150, an access information automatic changer 160, andan access information generator 170. The mobile terminal device 100 mayinclude other features and components, such as a display, a key entryunit, etc., even though they are not shown in FIG. 3.

The access information management DB 110 stores pre-registered WLANaccess information of the mobile terminal device 100. In more detail, auser of the mobile terminal device 100 commands the access informationmanagement DB 110 to store prescribed WLAN access information (forexample, AP setup information related to the WLAN and TCP/IP-relatedinformation) pre-registered for his or her desired area.

The access information manager 120 manages the access informationmanagement DB 110 upon receiving external commands. For example, theaccess information manager 120 transmits to the comparator 150 WLANaccess information stored in the access information management DB 110upon receiving a request signal from the comparator 150, or receivesWLAN access information newly generated from the access informationgenerator 170 for storage in the access information management DB 110.

The access information collector 130 collects all the information of allthe WLAN APs available at a current position of the mobile terminaldevice 100. In more detail, an operating condition of the accessinformation collector 130 may be selectively changed/set up by either auser or a manufacturer of the mobile terminal device 100. For example,the access information collector 130 may be set up to operate at aprescribed time at which the mobile terminal device 100 is reset orstarts operating, or may be set up to operate when the mobile terminaldevice 100 moves to another place. The mobile terminal device 100analyzes in real time a value of field intensity received from its ownAP. In this case, if the reception field intensity value is outside of apredetermined or prescribed reference range of the reception fieldintensity, i.e., if the reception field intensity is lower than areference field intensity value, it is determined that the mobileterminal device 100 has moved from its current place to another place.As another example, if there occurs any overload in the AP to which themobile terminal device 100 is connected, the mobile terminal device 100may set up the access information collector 130 to change a current APto another accessible AP. Therefore, the mobile terminal device 100analyzes in real time the amount of load of the AP. If the amount ofload of the AP is outside of a predetermined or prescribed referencerange, it is determined that an overload in the AP has occurred. Also,the mobile terminal device 100 may set up the access informationcollector 130 to operate in either one or both of the above cases.

In the meantime, information collected by the access informationcollector 130 includes among other things, a MAC (Media Access Control)address, a SSID (Service Set IDentifier), reception intensity, transferrate, and WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) setup information.

The access information analyzer 140 analyzes the information collectionresult of the access information collector 130, and generates a list ofWLAN APs accessible at a current position of the mobile terminal device100 on the basis of the analyzed result. For instance, provided thatWLAN APs accessible at a current position of the mobile terminal device100 are set to AP#1, AP#2, and AP#3, the list of APs is created using aMAC-address of each AP as a key signal.

The comparator 150 compares the list of APs transmitted from the accessinformation analyzer 140 to the comparator 150 with WLAN accessinformation stored in the access information management DB 110, suchthat it can determine whether there is a matching AP between the list ofAPs and the WLAN access information.

Upon receiving the result of such comparison from the comparator 150,the access information automatic changer 160 automatically changes WLANaccess information of the mobile terminal device 100 on the basis ofWLAN access information matched with any AP contained in the list ofAPs.

In the case where there is no WLAN access information matched with an APcontained in the list of APs, the access information generator 170automatically generates new WLAN access information. In more detail, theaccess information generator 170 combines one wired network informationamong a plurality of wired network information pre-registered in themobile terminal device 100 with information of a prescribed AP among aplurality of APs contained in the list of APs, and thereby automaticallygenerates new WLAN access information. For this operation, the accessinformation generator 170 selects at least one AP having a prescribedcondition, such as, for example, whether the reception field intensityof the mobile terminal device 100 as determined from informationtransmitted from the AP, or the amount of the AP's load, is in aprescribed reference range, from among the APs contained in the list ofAPs. In other words, the access information generator 170 generates newWLAN access information on the basis of the information of the selectedAPs. The access information generator 170 transmits the new WLAN accessinformation to the comparator 150, such that current WLAN accessinformation of the mobile terminal device 100 is automatically changedto another WLAN access information on the basis of the new WLAN accessinformation by the access information automatic changer 160. The accessinformation generator 170 additionally registers such automaticallygenerated WLAN access information in the access information managementDB 110 over the access information manager 120.

FIG. 4A is a view illustrating a database configuration of the mobileterminal device 100 shown in FIG. 3 in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present invention. Referring to FIG. 4A, WLAN access information 200stored in the access information management DB 110 includes an APinformation field 210 and a network information field 220 of anyterminal.

The AP information field 210 stores setup information of any AP which isconnected to the Internet by wire and provides WLAN service for mobileterminal devices located within a prescribed distance range. In moredetail, representative examples of such AP setup information stored inthe AP information field 210 are a MAC address of each AP, a SSID(Service Set IDentifier), reception intensity, transfer rate, and WEP(Wired Equivalent Privacy) setup information, etc.

The network information field 220 stores network information of mobileterminal device 100 corresponding to any AP stored in the AP informationfield 210. Representative examples of such network information stored inthe network information field 220 are an IP address of the mobileterminal device 100, gateway information, a subnet mask, and DNS (DomainName Server) information, etc.

FIG. 4B is a view illustrating a storage configuration of WLAN accessinformation having the database configuration shown in FIG. 4 a inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Referring toFIG. 4 b, an AP MAC address such as ‘00:01:02:98:8A:63’ and IPinformation such as ‘165.210.130.121’ are stored in the database as WLANaccess information, and the AP MAC address is matched with the IPinformation.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating a procedure for automaticallygenerating WLAN access information in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present invention. Referring to FIGS. 3 to 5, a method forautomatically generating/changing WLAN access information willhereinafter be described in more detail.

The mobile terminal device 100 constructs access information managementDB 110 for storing WLAN access information therein at step S110. In moredetail, a user registers prescribed information of several areas he orshe wishes in his or her mobile terminal device 100 at step S110. Theuser utilizes a data input device such as a keypad (not shown) of themobile terminal device 100 to enter his or her desired information atstep S110. In this case, the information registered in the user's mobileterminal device 100 includes AP setup information for use in regionalAPs and network setup information of the mobile terminal device 100connected to the APs. A representative example of the access informationmanagement DB 110 constructed at step S110 is shown in FIG. 4A.

In this way, if the access information management DB 110 is constructedat step S110, then the mobile terminal device 100 determines at stepS120 whether a prescribed condition for collecting WLAN accessinformation is satisfied. The prescribed condition for collecting theWLAN access information may be selectively changed/set up by either auser or a manufacturer of the mobile terminal device 100. Thisprescribed condition for collecting WLAN access information collectionis similar to the aforesaid condition of the access informationcollector 130 shown in FIG. 3. That is, the operating condition of theaccess information collector 130 is determined depending on reset orbooting information of the mobile terminal device 100, position changeinformation of the mobile terminal device 100, and overload informationof the mobile terminal device 100. Detailed descriptions thereof willherein be omitted because they are similar to those of the accessinformation collector 130 shown in FIG. 3.

In the case where the mobile terminal device 100 satisfies theprescribed condition for collecting WLAN access information at stepS120, information of all the WLAN APs being accessible at a currentposition of the mobile terminal device 100 is collected at step S130.The access information analyzer 140 analyzes the collected information,and creates the list of WLAN APs being accessible at a current positionof the mobile terminal device 100 at step S140.

Then, the mobile terminal device 100 loads at step S150 WLAN accessinformation configured and registered in the access informationmanagement DB 110 at step S110, and compares at step S160 the WLANaccess information with the list of APs created at step S140. In moredetail, the comparator 150 determines at step S160 whether there is amatching AP between the WLAN access information and the list of APs.

If it is determined at step S160 that there is such a matching APbetween the WLAN access information and the list of APs, the accessinformation automatic changer 160 automatically changes WLAN accessinformation of the mobile terminal device 100 on the basis of the WLANaccess information matched with any AP contained in the APs' list atstep S170. Otherwise, in the case where there is no matching AP betweenthe WLAN access information and the APs' list, the access informationgenerator 170 adds new WLAN access information to current WLAN accessinformation at step S180, i.e., automatically creates new WLAN accessinformation at step S180, and then the process returns to step S150.Therefore, at steps S150˜S170, WLAN access information of the mobileterminal device 100 is automatically changed on the basis of the WLANaccess information created at step S180.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating a procedure S180 for adding WLANaccess information to current WLAN access information in accordance withan embodiment of the present invention. With reference to FIGS. 3 and 6,the access information generator 170 selects one AP from among APscontained in the APs' list at step S181 to add WLAN access informationto current WLAN access information. For example, the access informationgenerator 170 selects at least one AP having a prescribed conditionwherein either reception field intensity of the mobile terminal device100 is within a prescribed range on the basis of information transmittedfrom the AP, or the amount of the AP's load is in a prescribed referencerange, from among the APs contained in the APs' list. Then, onearbitrary network information among a plurality of the networkinformation stored in the mobile terminal device 100 is loaded at stepS183. In this case, the network information is stored in a prescribedstorage position or memory of the mobile terminal device 100, in a knownmanner.

If prescribed preparations for generating WLAN access information areprovided as the above, the access information generator 170 combines theone AP selected at step S181 with network information loaded at stepS183, and thereby automatically creates new WLAN access information atstep S185. Thereafter, it is determined at step S187 whether a networkstatus between the mobile terminal device 100 and the APs is normal onthe basis of the new WLAN access information created at step S185.

If it is determined at step S187 that a network status between themobile terminal device 100 and the APs is abnormal, steps S183˜S187 forgenerating the successive WLAN access information are repeated.Otherwise, if it is determined at step S187 that a network statusbetween the mobile terminal device 100 and the APs is normal, the WLANaccess information created at step S185 is additionally stored in theaccess information management DB 110 at step S189.

A method for automatically generating/changing WLAN access informationaccording to the present invention will hereinafter be described withreference to FIGS. 7˜8 for better understanding of the presentinvention.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart illustrating a procedure for automaticallychanging WLAN access information to another information in accordancewith an embodiment of the present invention. Steps S210˜S280 shown inFIG. 7 respectively correspond to steps S130˜S170 shown in FIG. 5. Inmore detail, step S210 of FIG. 7 corresponds to step S130 of FIG. 5,step S220 of FIG. 7 corresponds to step S140 of FIG. 5, steps S240˜S250of FIG. 7 correspond to step S160 of FIG. 5, step S260 of FIG. 7corresponds to step S170 of FIG. 5, step S270 of FIG. 7 corresponds tostep S180 of FIG. 5, and step S280 of FIG. 7 corresponds to step S150 ofFIG. 5, such that their detailed description will herein be omitted.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart illustrating a procedure for automaticallygenerating WLAN access information in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present invention. Steps S271˜S279 of FIG. 8 respectively correspondto steps S181˜S189 of FIG. 6. In more detail, step S271 of FIG. 8corresponds to step S181 of FIG. 6, step S273 of FIG. 8 corresponds tostep S183 of FIG. 6, step S275 of FIG. 8 corresponds to step S185 ofFIG. 6, step S277 of FIG. 8 corresponds to step S187 of FIG. 6, and stepS279 of FIG. 8 corresponds to step S189 of FIG. 6, such that theirdetailed description will hereinafter be omitted. Particularly, aprescribed condition for selecting any AP at step S271 is shown in FIG.8. In this case, the AP is selected based on a WEP (Wired EquivalentPrivacy) status, transmission/reception intensity, data rate, and thenumber of serviceable associations. Particularly, the lower the numberof serviceable associations, the better the AP status.

As is apparent from the above description, a mobile terminal apparatusand a method for controlling the same according to the present inventionautomatically generate/change WLAN access information of a user's mobileterminal device when the user of a WLAN moves from one place to anotherplace, such that the user can freely use the WLAN without setting up anadditional process in his or her preferred areas. In brief, the presentinvention guarantees maximum mobility to the user, and results ingreater convenience for the user, resulting in broader application ofthe WLAN.

Although embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed forillustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate thatvarious modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, withoutdeparting from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in theaccompanying claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A mobile terminal apparatus, comprising: anaccess information management database (DB) for storing pre-registeredWireless Local Area Network (WLAN) access information identifying aplurality of WLAN Access Points (APs) accessible by the mobile terminalapparatus; an access information collector for collecting informationfor one or more WLAN APs being accessible at a current position of themobile terminal apparatus; an access information analyzer for analyzingthe collected information of the access information collector, andcreating a list of the one or more WLAN APs accessible at the currentposition of the mobile terminal apparatus based on the analysis; acomparator for determining whether the one or more WLAN APs of the listmatch the plurality of WLAN APs identified by the WLAN accessinformation stored in the access information management DB; and anaccess information automatic changer for automatically setting WLANaccess information corresponding to one of one or more matched APs as acurrent WLAN AP when the one or more WLAN APs match the plurality ofWLAN APs; wherein the access information management DB automaticallystores new WLAN access information that does not match with thepre-registered WLAN access information from among the access informationof the APs contained in the list of the one or more WLAN APs inaccordance with the result of the determining in the comparator; andwherein the access information management database, the accessinformation analyzer, the comparator, the access information automaticchanger and the access information generator are arranged within themobile terminal apparatus.
 2. The mobile terminal apparatus as set forthin claim 1, wherein the access information management DB comprises: anAP information field for storing setup information of APs which areconnected to an Internet by wire and provide WLAN service for aplurality of mobile terminal apparatuses located within a prescribeddistance range; and a network information field for storing networkinformation of the mobile terminal apparatuses corresponding to any APstored in the AP information field.
 3. The mobile terminal apparatus asset forth in claim 1, wherein the access information collector operatesas a result of resetting or booting the mobile terminal apparatus. 4.The mobile terminal apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein theaccess information collector operates when either reception fieldintensity received from any AP connected to the mobile terminalapparatus or an amount of load of the AP is outside of a predeterminedreference range.
 5. The mobile terminal apparatus as set forth in claim1, wherein the new WLAN access information is stored by combining onewired network information among a plurality of wired network informationpre-registered in the mobile terminal apparatus with information of aprescribed AP among the one or more APs contained in the list of APs. 6.The mobile terminal apparatus as set forth in claim 5, furthercomprising: an access information generator for selecting at least oneAP having a prescribed condition, wherein either a reception fieldintensity of the mobile terminal apparatus is in a prescribed rangebased on information transmitted from the AP, or an amount of the AP'sload is in a prescribed reference range, from among the one or more APscontained in the list of APs, and generating the new WLAN accessinformation based on information of the selected APs.
 7. The mobileterminal apparatus as set forth in claim 1, further comprising: anaccess information manager for managing the access informationmanagement DB.
 8. The mobile terminal apparatus as set forth in claim 7,wherein the access information generator additionally registers the newWLAN access information in the access information management DB over theaccess information manager.
 9. The mobile terminal apparatus as setforth in claim 1, wherein the WLAN access information is manuallyinputted by a user of the mobile terminal apparatus.
 10. A method forautomatically generating/changing Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN)access information, comprising the steps of: a) storing, by a mobileterminal apparatus, WLAN access information identifying a plurality ofWLAN Access Points (APs) for service positions of a plurality of WLANsaccessible by the mobile terminal apparatus in an access informationmanagement database (DB); b) collecting, by the mobile terminalapparatus, information of all WLAN APs being accessible at a currentposition of the mobile terminal apparatus on the basis of a prescribedaccess information collection condition; c) analyzing, by the mobileterminal apparatus, the collected information, and creating a list ofone or more WLAN APs accessible at the current position of the mobileterminal apparatus based on the analysis; d) determining, by the mobileterminal apparatus, whether the one or more WLAN APs of the list matchthe plurality of WLAN APs identified by the WLAN access informationstored in the access information management DB; e) automaticallychanging,by the mobile terminal apparatus, current WLAN accessinformation of the mobile terminal apparatus to another WLAN based onWLAN access information matched with the one or more WLAN APs, when theone or more WLAN APs match the plurality of WLAN APs; and f)automatically storing, by the mobile terminal apparatus, new WLAN accessinformation in the access information management DB, wherein the newWLAN access information, from among the access information of the APscontained in the list of the one or more WLAN APs, does not match withthe pre-registered WLAN access information.
 11. The method as set forthin claim 10, wherein step (a) includes the steps of: constructing an APinformation field for storing setup information of APs which areconnected to an Internet by wire and provide WLAN service for aplurality of mobile terminal apparatuses located within a prescribeddistance range; and constructing a network information field for storingnetwork information of the mobile terminal apparatuses corresponding toany AP stored in the AP information field.
 12. The method as set forthin claim 10, wherein step (b) operates upon resetting or booting themobile terminal apparatus.
 13. The method as set forth in claim 10,wherein step (b) operates when either reception field intensity receivedfrom any AP connected to the mobile terminal apparatus or an amount ofload of the AP is outside of a predetermined reference range.
 14. Themethod as set forth in claim 10, wherein step (f) includes the steps of:f1) selecting at least one AP having a prescribed condition, whereineither the reception field intensity of the mobile system is in aprescribed range based on information transmitted from the AP, or theamount of the AP's load is in a prescribed reference range, from amongthe APs contained in the list of WLAN APs; f2) loading one arbitrarynetwork information among a plurality of network information pre-storedin the mobile terminal apparatus; and f3) combining the AP selected atstep (f1) with the network information loaded at step (f2), andautomatically generating new WLAN access information.
 15. The method asset forth in claim 14, wherein step (f) further includes the steps of:f4) determining whether a network status between any mobile terminalapparatus and its AP is normal on the basis of the new WLAN accessinformation automatically generated at step (f3); and (f5) if thenetwork status between the mobile terminal apparatus and its AP isabnormal, repeatedly executing steps (f2) to (f4).
 16. The method as setforth in claim 15, wherein step (f) further includes the step of: f6)adding the new WLAN access information to the access informationmanagement DB.
 17. The method as set forth in claim 10, wherein the WLANaccess information is manually inputted by a user of the mobile terminalapparatus.